I grew up in a household with a strong religious mother and an even stronger grandmother. My dad was not a man of faith, but he never kept us from following in the footsteps of my mom. In fact, he encouraged it. But I do recall that when I was growing up, my faith felt more like a burdenthan a relationship with God.

Church was a duty we had to get up for every Sunday morning way earlier than any human should me made to wake up on a weekend. Though I enjoyed the musical segments of our Church services, the rest of it was way over my head, except for when they would talk about the fires of hell.

Then, I paid attention! 

I lived in constant fear of hell because I was a bad kid with a track record of some really dumb decisions, and from what I was able to discern in all the teachings in Church, hell was where bad kids ended up. It wasn’t till Junior High school that I began to wrap my head around the idea that Christianity wasn’t about having fire insurance, but about a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

So, as a dad with 3 inquisitive kids with an ever growing list of questions about spiritual matters, it’s important to me that I frame their understanding of Christianity in the context of what God already did for them when He sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay for their sin.

I hope this next statement is true as true for you as it is for me as a dad - my greatest desire for each of my kids is that they would someday choose to trust in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of their life.  I hope and pray that their relationship with Jesus is not just a Sunday-morning faith or one borne out of obligation, but a thriving relationship where they know and experience His presence and power in their lives. 

So, it’s this prayer that I want to pray for you and your kids today. 

PRAY ALONG WITH ME, DADS

“Lord God in heaven, thank you for creating us in your image and for blessing us with the means to be able talk back to you. Thank you for sending your son, Jesus Christ to die for the sin of the world, including ours. And thank you for providing a way through faith in Jesus Christ to have a joyful relationship with you.

I confess that my children and I have sinned and failed to live up to the holiness you demand of us. I ask today that you would forgive us for all our sins. Remove from us our sins and separate it from us as far as the east is from the west.  

O God, you say in the Bible that no one can come to you unless your first draw them near by your Holy Spirit, so I pray that you would draw each of my children close to you. Jesus, grant my children the gift of eternal life and write their names in your Book of Life. Win over their hearts so that they know you not only as Savior of their life, but as the Lord and King of their lives.

Jesus, bless them with a joyful relationship with you, not one borne out of fear or obligation. May their lives be constantly marked by the joy of the Lord and may their relationship with you take center stage above all other relationships in their lives so that they truly grow to love you with all their hearts, all their minds, and all their body.

Help them by the power of your Holy Spirit to live each day with the knowledge that they are saved by your loving grace and not their efforts to keep being good. Remind them daily by your Spirit and through the scriptures that they can always approach your throne of grace because of what Jesus has already done for them on the cross!

May their confidence in your salvation free them to live for you and to be bold witnesses of the grace they have received. Thank you for loving them so dearly and for the gift of eternal life, in Jesus name I pray, Amen!”

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Hey dad, thanks for taking the time to pray along with me today. If you enjoyed today’s blog post, I would love to hear your feedback and any insight you might have about what we should pray for next. Just leave a note below in the comment section!

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Catch you same time next week!